News Article

Equipment Grant from DENSO will Support Rapid Prototyping

07/25/2016

JONESBORO – A new materials science laboratory will offer sophisticated new opportunities for Arkansas State University students in the STEM disciplines as a result of generous financial support from DENSO North America Foundation.

Dr. Ross Carroll, assistant professor of physics, will serve as principal investigator for the project, "Rapid Prototyping in Physical Science and Engineering Education." He wrote the successful equipment grant proposal for $50,000.

The grant will support a project to equip a laboratory with digital fabrication technologies, including a desktop computer numerical control (CNC) mill and 3-D printers. The equipment will allow A-State students to engage in "rapid prototyping," a growing trend in industry and the STEM education fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“This grant from the DENSO Foundation will allow us to establish a new teaching lab with some state-of-the-art digital fabrication tools. The desktop milling machine and professional-grade 3-D printer provided by this grant will allow for the easy creation of functional prototypes and models for our undergraduate labs," Carroll explained.

"An A-State student could rapidly create a miniature bridge for an experiment in stress testing, a custom circuit board for high-altitude ballooning, or a scale model of a bacterium," he added. "The possibilities afforded by these tools are endless and will provide students with engaging learning experiences for many years to come.”

Carroll, who earned his Ph.D. in physics at Texas Tech University, joined the A-State faculty in 2010.

Dr. John Pratte, professor of physics and dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics, emphasized the advantage of quick turnaround in experiment results.

"This grant will help us to revolutionize our physics and engineering labs. Students will be able to rapidly test physical properties of new designs and compare them to theoretical values, thereby gaining a much deeper understanding of the underlying science and engineering."

With increased enrollments at A-State in STEM disciplines and a continuing need to better prepare students for use of new technologies, Pratte added, "This could not have come at a better time. We greatly thank the Denso Foundation for making this award."

About DENSO

In Arkansas, DENSO employs more than 500 people and produces heating, ventilation and air conditioning assemblies and new-generation modular radiators for its North American customers.

Across North America, DENSO employs more than 23,000 people at 30 consolidated companies and affiliates. Of these, 25 are manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In the United States alone, DENSO employs more than 15,000 people in California, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Arkansas. DENSO’s North American consolidated sales totaled $9.9 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31. For more information, go to www.densocorp-na.com or connect with DENSO on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DENSOinNorthAmerica.

About the DENSO North America Foundation

A registered 501(c)3 corporate foundation, the DENSO North America Foundation is dedicated to helping students advance their education in engineering, technology and other related programs. Founded in 2001, the foundation provides grants to colleges and universities throughout North America, helping our communities prosper through the development of a skilled and knowledgeable workforce. The foundation also provides disaster-relief grants through the American Red Cross to aid persons and communities in which DENSO Corporation operates. For more information, visit http://densofoundation.org.